Fountain.



. N. TESLA.

FOUNTAIN.

APPLICATION FILED 001'. 23, 1913.

1,1 13,?16, Patented U613. 13. 1914.

2 SHELTS SHEE'I' l WITNESSES: .(NVE/VTOR.

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FOUNTAIN.

T 0 all w/z 01/2 it may concern Be it known that I, NIKOLA TEsLA, acitizen of the United States, residing at New York, borough ofManhattan, county. and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Fountains, of which the following a full, clear,and exact description.

It has been customary heretofore I .tains and aquarian displays, toproject spouts. jets. or sprays of water from suitable fixtures, chiellyfor decorative and beautify lug purposes. lnvariably, the (piantit ofthe ing fluid was small and the pleasing impr ssion on the eye wassolely the result of the more or less artisti: arrangement of thestreainlets .and ornaments employed. The present invention a departurefrom such practice in that it relies principally on the fascinating"spectacle of a large mass of lluidin motion and the display ofseeinin'gly great power. Incidentally. it permits the realization ofbeautiful and striking views through illumination and the disposition ofvoluminous cascades which, moreto useful, purposes in ways notpracticable with the old and familiar devices. These objects areaccomplished by the displacement of a great volume of fluid with arelatively small expenditure of energy in the production and maintenanceof a veritable waterfall as distinguished from a mere spout, jet orspray.

The underlying idea of the invention can be carried out by apparatus ofwidely varied design, but in the present instance the simplest forms, ofwhich I am aware, are shown as embodiments of the principle involved.

ln the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a top plan and'l ig. 2 aVertical central secdevised for the purpose. illustrate trn responthngdevice of much simpler Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 views of a similarconstruction.

resuitable material, as metal, glass, porcelain, marble, cement or.other compound. with a central hub 2 and a conical conduit 3, flared outatthe top and provided with openings at the bottom. ln the hub 2 isinserted a shaft 5 rotatably supon ball bearings 6 and carrying at itslower end a friction pulley or gear wheel 7. To the upper end oi. theshaft is fastened a :asting 8, preferably of some non-corrosive alloy,with blades 9 constituting a screw ceptacle of any Specification ofLetters Patent. Application filed October 28, 1913.

in founarnnr euro;

Pei-tented @ct. l3, Mild. SerialNo.79T,718. I

as the best will be unothcr means maybe er'nployed.

transmit through wheel 11, by friction or otherwise, power to the pulleyor Wheel Openings 4 may be covered with removable strainers andreceptacles 1 may be provided with convenient connections, respectively,for cleaning and renewing the liquid. it is thought unnecessary to showthese attachments in the drawing.

The operation will be readily Receptacle i being filled to the properlevel with water or other fluid, and the power turned on, the propellerblades are setv in rotation and the fluid. drawn through the openings4-, is lifted. to the horizontal flared out top otcondu'it 3 until itoverflows in the form of a circular cascade.

In order to pre ent the wetting of the bearings of shaft 5, the centralhub 2 of receptacle l is made to project above conduit The latter ofeconomy, and also fouthe purpose of reducing the speed and securing asmooth and even overflow. As the lift is inconsiderable, little power isneeded to keep in motion a great volumeof Water and the impressionproduced on the observer is very striking. With the view of stillfurther economizing energy. the bottom of receptacle 1 may be shaped asindicated by the dotted lines l2, in 2 so as to increase intake 01 thepropeller.

To convey an idea of the results obtainable withya small apparatus,properly designed, it may be stated that by applying only 1/2) of ahorse-power to the shaft and understood.

assuming a lift of eighteen inches, more than one hundred gallons perminute may be propelled, the depth of the fluid passing over the flaredtop of conduit 3, one foot in cascade presents a singularly attractiveappearance and this feature may be still further enhanced by artisticgrouping of plants l or other objects around it, in which case I thewhole contrivance may be hidden from l view. Particularly beautifuldisplays, however, are obtainable by illumination which I may be carriedout in many ways. To

A motor 10 suitably mounted so "as to is funnel shaped for reasons 1.

the velocity at the heighten the effect, a colored, opalescent orphosphorescent fluid may be employed. sterilizing, aromatic orradio-active liquids may also be used, when so desired. The usualfountains are objectionable. in many places on account of the facilitythey afford for the breeding of insects. The apparatus described notonly makes this impossible but is a very eflicicnt trap. Unlike the olddevices in which only a very smalLvolume I of water is set in motion,such a Waterfall is is highly effective in cooling the surroundingatmosphere. To still improve this action the free end 13 of the rotatingshaft may be utilized to carry any kind of fan.

The water may, of course, be artificially cooled.

The device described may be modified in many ways and also considerablysimplified. For example, the propeller may be fixed directly to theshaft of the motor and the latter supported conveniently from above whenmany of the parts illustrated in Fig. 1

*and Fig. 2 may be dispensed with. In fact,

receptacle 1 itself may be replaced by an independent tank or basin sothat the entire apparatus will only consist of a funnel shaped conduit,motor and propeller as a unit. Such a construction is shown in Fig. 3and Fig. 4 in which 3 is a conical vessel provided with intake openings4 and resting on a substantial base. A motor 14., carrying on a strongshaft 5 a propeller 9, is fixed to supports 15 which extend from theinner side of conduit 3 and may be integral with the same. Obviously, toinsure 'perfeet working the weight of the moving parts and axialreaction of the propeller should be taken up or balanced as by a thrustbearing 16, or other means.

Apparatus of this description is especially intended for use in openbasins or reservoirs in which it may be placed and put in action atshort notice. WVhen it is desired to produce large and. permanentwaterfalls the conduit 3 may be formed by masonryof appropriate archit:tural. design.

The invention has. an unlimited field of use in private dwellings,hotels, theaters,

concert halls, hospitals, aquaria and, par-- ticularly, 1n squares,gardens and parks in which it may be carriedout on a large scale so asto afford a magnificent spectacle far more captivating and stimulatingto the public than the insignificant displays now in use.

I am well aware that artificial water falls,

have heretofore been exhibited and that fountains in which the samewater is circulated are old and well known. But in all such casesindependent pumps of small volumetric capacity were used to raise thewater to an appreciable height which involved the expenditure ofconsiderable energy, while the spectacle oiferedto the eye wasuninteresting. Inno instance, to my knowledge, has a great mass of fluidbeen propelled by theuse of only such power as is required to liftitfrom its normal level through a'.

relatively short space to that from which it overflows and descends as acascade, nor have devices especially adapted for the purpose beenemployed.

What I claim is:

1. An artificial fountain consisting of an unobstructed conduit havingan elevated overflow and adapted to be set in a body of water, and apropelling device for maintaining a rapid circulation of the waterthrough the conduit.

2. An artificial fountain comprising in combination an unobstructedconduit having an elevated overflow and adapted to be set in a body offluid. a propeller withinthe conduit for maintaining a rapid circulationof the fluid through the same, and a motor for driving the propeller.

3. The artificial fountain herein described, comprising in combination areceptacle, a central hollow conduit with an elevated overflow placedtherein, a propeller within the conduit, and a motor for drivingthe-propeller. so as to maintain a rapid circulation of fluid throughthe conduit.

4. The artificial fountain herein described, comprising in combination,a receptacle, set therein, a central hub extending u through theconduit, a rotary shaft exten ing tlu-rcthrough, and a propeller carriedby the shaft for maintaining a rapid circulation of fluid through theconduit.

5. An artificial fountain comprising in 'combination with anunobstructed passa e from the normal to the elevated fluid levels,

of a propeller for maintaining a rapid circulation of the fluid throughsuch passage and producing thereby a cascade with the expenditure'of-little energy.

6. An artificial fountain comprising a funnel shaped conduit adapted tobe set in a body offluid, and having openings near the lower end, and apropeller supported within the conduit and adapted when in operation tomaintaina rapid circulation of water through the same.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

in the presence of two, subscribing witnesses.

NIKOLA TESLA. Witnesses:

M. Lawson DYAR, v WM. Bonnnnnn.

a conduit with elevatedovcrflow

